[A. Pole]

But the really stunning piece of news is that if I had put my bar mitzvah money into small cap, high value stocks, I would have gotten a ride into outer space. If, way back in 1958, I had taken the stocks in the bottom half of the NYSE in terms of capitalization and purchased the third of those with the highest ratio of book to market value with the $1,500, today I would be sitting on around $3,567,000.

Or if you put a few dollars in the right lottery ticket today you might get even more in a FEW days!

From 1958 to 2005 US economy and NYSE was doing quite well. How well will they do from 2005 to 2052? History is a harsh mistress.

[SFC Chromey]

In the 70's the market was sideways. In ten years it advanced only 9 points.

So while the 50 year span shows impressive markets, each decade has had its downside.

[pageonetoo]

I put $35,000 into Apple Computer Stock, a couple of years ago. They split 2-1 and are selling for around $70+ right now. I paid $13 3/8. You do the math. It doesn't take a lottery ticket, just astute observation, and a little luck...

I bought the APPL with the proceeds of the sale (for the third time) of XRX, which I bought, and sold, over a one year period. Xerox had traded as high as $83, but fell to $4. I bought $5k, saw it rise, and sold. It fell again, and ditto twice.

I am scared of the stock market, but I have made some money...